The present invention relates generally to material disposition through centrifugal action. Stated more particularly, this patent discloses and protects a centrifugal apparatus and method for depositing materials and to the products of that apparatus and method.
One knowledgeable in the art will be aware that prior art centrifugal material disposition devices typically comprised paint spraying devices wherein centrifugal action was employed to induce atomization of paint. To do so, paint would be fed onto a rapidly rotating disk. Paint droplets would thereby be distributed centrifugally from a spinning edge of the disk and onto the article to be painted. With this, swaths of the article to be painted would be covered with a mist of centrifugally dispensed droplets.
In some cases, the direction of the distributed paint could be controlled with a peripheral wall and what can be considered a gate that is disposed external to the spinning disk. Any paint not passing through the gate would be caught by the peripheral wall and drained back into the source container. Advances relative to these types of centrifugal material dispensing systems are typically measured in terms of improvements in paint metering, more accurate control of flow rates, and more even distribution of paint droplets.
While the deposit of droplets of material onto articles of manufacture has been extensively developed, there remains a need for a dispensing apparatus and method that can deposit material in lines onto selected articles of manufacture to achieve plural advantages in design and function. Therefore, it will be apparent that there is a need for such a centrifugal dispensing apparatus and method that fills the gaps left by the prior art. It is clearer still that a centrifugal dispensing apparatus and method that meets all relevant needs left by the prior art while providing a number of heretofore unrealized advantages thereover would represent a marked advance.
Advantageously, the present invention sets forth with the broadly stated object of providing a centrifugal apparatus and method for depositing flowable materials onto articles that solve each of the problems left by the prior art while providing a number of heretofore unrealized advantages thereover.
Stated more particularly, one object of the present invention is to provide a centrifugal dispensing apparatus and method that enables the application of ornamental designs to articles of material in a quick, convenient, and unique manner.
A further object of the invention is to provide a centrifugal dispensing apparatus and method that can apply straight lines even to articles of material that are not flat.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a centrifugal dispensing apparatus and method that can make a flat article of material appear curved or otherwise non-flat.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a centrifugal dispensing apparatus and method that can enable control over a direction of material dispensing from the centrifugal dispensing apparatus.
These and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious both to one who reviews the present specification and drawings and to one who has an opportunity to make use of an embodiment of the present invention.
In accomplishing the aforementioned objects, a most basic embodiment of the present invention for a centrifugal dispensing apparatus for depositing volumes of flowable material onto a surface comprises a centrifugal dispensing drum with an open inner volume defined by an outer shell for retaining a volume of flowable material, an exit aperture in the outer shell of the centrifugal dispensing drum for allowing flowable material to pass therethrough by centrifugal force, and a drive shaft coupled to the centrifugal dispensing drum for enabling a rotation of the centrifugal dispensing drum. Under this arrangement, the centrifugal dispensing drum can dispense flowable material onto a surface by a rotation of the centrifugal dispensing drum while a volume of flowable material is retained therein.
Of course, flowable materials of a wide variety of types could be disposed in the open inner volume of the centrifugal dispensing drum. In preferred embodiments, the volume of flowable material will comprise a material demonstrating a long rheology wherein the flowable material exhibits stringy and web-like properties. Where such a material is employed, the volume of flowable material can advantageously form an elongate string of material emanating from the exit aperture for being applied to a surface. One material that is particularly preferable for use as the flowable material is a 100% polymer emulsion, which can be colorless or colored. A most preferred polymer emulsion comprises a clear tar gel polymer emulsion.
The centrifugal dispensing drum certainly can have a single, unitary open inner volume. In other embodiments, however, the open inner volume can be divided into first, second, and further separate open inner volumes with an exit aperture associated with each. With this, distinct volumes of flowable material can be retained in each of the first and second open inner volumes and dispensed from the first and second open inner volumes by centrifugal force during a rotation of the centrifugal dispensing drum.
A driving arrangement for rotating the centrifugal dispensing drum can take the form of a power drill with a handle portion, an activating trigger, and a drill chuck for drivably engaging the drive shaft and the centrifugal dispensing drum. Alternatively, the driving arrangement can take the form of an integral driving arrangement that comprises a single unit with the centrifugal dispensing drum.
In certain embodiments, the centrifugal dispensing drum can further incorporate a means for sealing off the exit aperture in a directionally sensitive manner. With such a means provided, flowable material can be prevented from being emitted in unintended directions and the flowable material can be directed onto a surface. The means could, of course, take a number of forms. In one preferred case, the means comprises a cam operated plunger arrangement for sealing off the exit aperture during at least one given segment of a rotation of the centrifugal dispensing drum and for leaving the exit aperture unsealed during at least one remaining segment of the rotation of the centrifugal dispensing drum. The cam can have a surface with at least one narrowed portion and at least one widened portion, and the plunger can have a first end with a follower for traveling over at least part of the surface of the cam and a second end with a plug for sealing off the exit aperture of the centrifugal dispensing drum when the follower of the plunger travels over a widened portion of the cam. The cam can be fixed relative to the driving arrangement while the plunger can rotate with the centrifugal dispensing drum.
Where necessary or desirable, the centrifugal dispensing apparatus can further incorporate a feeding tube for supplying flowable material to the open inner volume of the centrifugal dispensing drum. This supply can be achieved by providing an annular open ring in the centrifugal dispensing drum and having a distal end of the feeding tube disposed through that annular open ring and into the open inner volume of the centrifugal dispensing drum. With this, flowable material can be introduced into the open inner volume even during rotation of the centrifugal dispensing drum.
The centrifugal dispensing apparatus can be used in a variety of methods for applying flowable material to an article to achieve unique advantages in design and convenience. For example, one process under the present invention could begin with the provision of a centrifugal dispensing apparatus with a centrifugal dispensing drum and a driving arrangement for rotating the centrifugal dispensing drum.
A volume of flowable material can be disposed in the open inner volume of the centrifugal dispensing drum, and the driving arrangement can be activated to induce the centrifugal dispensing drum into rotation at an angular speed sufficient to cause a volume of flowable material to exit the open inner volume of the centrifugal dispensing drum through the exit aperture. With the flowable material exiting the open inner volume, at least part of the exiting volume of flowable material can be applied to the article.
The preferred flowable material can again comprise a material demonstrating a long rheology, such as a 100% polymer emulsion, wherein the flowable material will exhibit stringy and web-like properties such that it will form an elongate string of material emanating from the exit aperture for being applied to the article. With such a flowable material provided, the article onto which the material is applied can be curved or otherwise non-flat and the centrifugal dispensing apparatus can nonetheless deposit straight lines thereon. The article could certainly be permanently non-flat, such as would be the case with a sculpture, a vase, or any other type of structure.
Alternatively, the article could comprise an article of sheet material, such as paper, canvas, or fabric, with at least one non-flat portion temporarily formed therein. In such a case, the article of sheet material can be flattened out after at least some lines of flowable material have been applied thereto whereby the previously straight lines will become curved thereby giving the article of sheet material a non-flat appearance even while it is flat.
With a plurality of embodiments of the present invention for a centrifugal dispensing apparatus and method described, one will appreciate that the foregoing discussion broadly outlines the more important features of the invention merely to enable a better understanding of the detailed description that follows and to instill a better appreciation of the inventor""s contribution to the art. Before an embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it must be made clear that the following details of construction, descriptions of geometry, and illustrations of inventive concepts are mere examples of the many possible manifestations of the invention.